Gift
by Bulldust
Summary: A troubled wolf meets a curious stranger.


A sudden sharp screech and a flutter of wings gave the crunching of footsteps pause, before continuing at a softer pace. Wide eyes searched around still barren trees, always vigilant. He moved with careful precision in the trees, avoiding wet snow and old leaves. The early spring air still held a crisp edge, making the dark male's breaths smokey in the dusk.

The black wolf scouted the territory regularly, keeping track of what entered and exited. The arrival of pups had the scout more anxious than ever. He paused at a set of old tracks of an awoken bear, and continued forward in a quicker pace. Danger could be anywhere, waiting for him to let his guard down to snuff the light out of his family. If he rested for even a moment they would tear out their-

He skidded to a halt as another scent floated in the breeze. He lifted his nose higher to collect more information. It was a familiar scent, yet the owner of it was still a stranger to him. The source was carried on the wind to the west, down towards the river. The scout blinked and gazed around at the now barren land he stood upon. He didn't remember leaving the treeline, and he growled at himself for not paying attention. The wind stirred again, and gave a sigh as he made his way down the rocky slope towards the border.

The roar of the flooding river rang in his ears as he drew closer. The dark waves crashed along the bank as it pounded past him, collecting any debris in its wake. The rivers always tended to flood in the spring thaw, freeing itself from its frozen trance into a vibrant reincarnation to announce the changing of seasons. The earthy musk of the old water filled his nose as he sniffed. He drew his ears back a bit and sniffed once more. The scent of his stranger was gone, as if it never existed to begin with. He snorted and turned up to the steep banks. He was wasting his time over phantoms again.

As he rounded the top and was beginning to make his way back to the pack an odd sound paused him. He turn to see a familiar figure scrabble onto the rocks of the slippery bank on the other side. A white male shook out his pelt and turned his brown head towards the river. It seemed he failed to notice the scout, so the dark wolf sat down and watched him, deep in thought.

He had only known this male for a short time, only seeing him once or twice. The wolf- Ugrunaaluk, was it? Was pacing the banks, his amber eyes focused on something the scout couldn't see. The black male thought back to his past encounters, orange eyes narrowed.

The white male was nothing but friendly and was always moving around, although he seemed a bit lost. He met him once in awhile along the fringes of the territory, he never crossed, but always seemed to know where the scout was. The male seemed lonesome in a way, as if he desired contact but never made a move to join or make a pack for himself. He thought back to their last encounter on that snowy evening. He sighed at the thought and turned his gaze down to the object of his thoughts. Ugrunaaluk was a bit of a softie, always offering some sort of meal or- wait is he doing? Is he… oh.. _Oh_.

The scout scrambled to his feet as Ugrunaaluk took a nose dive into the rapids. He ran down to the bank to try to find him under the rushing water. His eyes flicked to any movement or color he could see, but the water was going too fast for him to spot- he heard distant scraping and looked down stream to find the male clawing his way onto the territory shoreline. He bounded up to the white male as he climbed onto the dry bank, his head facing away from the scout. "You okay? You're absolutely soaked, I-"

He was cut off when Ugrunaaluk snapped his head down and smashed something hard against the frozen ground. He then turn and dropped a fish at the scout's feet, licking his lips with a charming smile, "Ah, hallo there Emrys. I did not noticed you, I apologize," He dipped his head towards the smaller male.

Emrys stared down at the fish, then back up at the friendly gaze. He opened his mouth to say something and shut it again, trying to figure out what to say to this idiot, "What in the name of Meadow were you doing jumping in there. Don't you know how dangerous spring rivers are?'

The larger male had stepped a few feet away from the smaller one to shake out his pelt, "Do not worry Emrys, my fur is thick so the cold can not bother me."

"How many times have you hit your head in there,"Emrys deadpanned, only to receive a chuckle as the white male nosed the fish to him.

"I have swam many times in frozen water to know the dangers. Here," he nudged the fish towards the scout's paws, "That hare from when we last met seemed to your disliking, so I spent the evening looking for a more tasteful meal,"

Emrys looked down at the offered fish. Its sleek body was sleek in the dim lighting as it stared up at him with unblinking eyes. Its scales were interrupted by puncture marks that bled little to none.

"If it is not to your liking, I can fetch another," Ugrunaaluk turned towards the water.

Emrys snapped his eyes back up to the male's retreating form, "No. No its fine. It's just," The white male looked at him over his shoulder. Emrys sighed, "You don't have to do this, you know," he gestured towards the fish.

Ugrunaaluk tilted his head in curiosity, then gave him a warm smile, "Consider it a thank you for spending time with me," And with that, he turned and dipped into the pounding waters, crossing with ease onto the other side. He climbed out and shook out his thicker northern pelt, and he waved a farewell with a tail held high.

Emrys watched him disappear out into the unowned land; the males brown head and white body made surprisingly good camouflage in the spring thaw. The black male moved his gaze down to his latest gift. After a moment of hesitation, he plucked up the fish and turned back into the treeline, his dark coat blending into the night.

Author's Note: Nothing but soft boys here. Ugrunaaluk is my handsome boy and Emrys belongs to my friend on Amino. You can check Ugrunaaluk out here:

/c/wolfquest/page/item/ugrunaaluk/qzal_G0f3IwwRY0J3LrP5MDaxBn3e8KJ2J


End file.
